It does not follow that everyone who eats and lives in the above manner will develop bronchitis or catarrh ; some persons' constitutions may be such that they will develop a rheumatic tendency or a tendency to neuritis or other form of severe acidosis. But the whole point is that the individual living in this way must develop disease of some sort in time ; and if his chest is weak through wrong breathing habits, excessive smoking, living or working in habitually stuffy atmospheres, suppressive treatment of former diseases, etc., then it is most likely of all that bronchitis will be the form disease will take in his system. Over clothing of the body (especially the wearing of too thick underwear) is also a predisposing factor to be considered in the setting up of bronchitis.

Treatment. � The sufferer from chronic bronchitis will have learnt ere reading this book that Medical Science can offer him nothing in the way of cure for his condition. That is simply because the real underlying cause of his trouble � his wrong feeding habits � are entirely ignored by medical treatment. Drugging for chronic bronchitis is just a waste of time and money ; more, it is likely to make the condition worse in time, because of the suppressive character of the drugs employed. The only logical and sane treatment for chronic bronchitis is that which aims at setting right the dietetic and other mistakes which have caused the condition to develop. In no other way can a cure be effected. And by means of constitutional treatment based on these lines many cases of chronic bronchitis which have been given up as " incurable " by the medical profession have been restored to health and fitness once more by Natural-Cure methods.

If the sufferer from chronic bronchitis will now leave off taking medicines � patent or otherwise � and will carry on in his own case in the manner here to be described, he will soon be able to convince himself, in the only real way possible, of the curative powers inherent in natural methods of treatment.

Comparatively mild cases can begin with from five to seven or ten days on the all-fruit diet outlined in the Appendix ; more serious and long-standing cases should begin with a short fast for four or five days, followed by ten to fourteen days on the restricted diet given in the Appendix. In either case the full weekly diet, also given in the Appendix, should then be adopted, and should be adhered to as strictly as possible thereafter.

Further short periods on the all-fruit diet�say two or three consecutive days at monthly intervals � or further short fasts and periods on the restricted diet at two- or three-monthly intervals, may be needed in certain cases, according to the progress being made. The patient must decide this for himself, using his own discretion in the matter. The daily dry friction and sponge, together with the breathing and other exercises outlined in the Appendix, should form a regular daily feature of the treatment ; and a hot Epsom-salts bath should be taken twice weekly from now on. For the first few days of the treatment, and after if necessary, the bowels should be cleansed nightly with a warm-water enema or gravity douche ; and where constipation is habitual, the rules for its eradication as given in the site bookcase should be put into operation forthwith.

Fresh air and outdoor exercise are two essentials to the treatment which must not be neglected, and a good walk should be taken every day where possible. The diet factor is of the utmost importance, and the demineralised and refined foods already mentioned as being instrumental in the setting up of catarrh and bronchitis should be left severely alone. The bulk of the future dietary MUST be made up of fresh fruits and vegetables. Bread � even if wholemeal � should not be eaten more than once a day (with the salad meal). Strong tea, coffee, and all condiments, pickles, sauces, etc., should be strictly avoided. No alcohol should be taken, and smoking, where habitual, should be cut out entirely if the best results from the treatment are to be achieved. No extraneous factor affects the bronchial tubes so adversely as habitual smoking.

For easing up phlegm or mucus in the chest, nothing is so valuable as the cold pack (for details of which see the Appendix). A pack should be applied to the chest every night on retiring, and removed in the morning. Where at all procurable, spinal manipulation is most beneficial indeed as an adjunct to the natural treatment for chronic bronchitis. ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD DRUGS OR MEDICINES OF ANY KIND BE TAKEN.

If one listens to a doctor speaking, one would imagine that a cough can develop in the chest merely as the result of " the weather " or such-like seasonal cause ; but this is ascribing a cause to the condition which is no cause at all, but merely an excuse or invention to hide ignorance of the real truth of the matter. Where there is a cough there is phlegm ; and where there is phlegm there is catarrh ; and where there is catarrh it means that the bronchial tubes are clogged up with waste matter brought into the system through the medium of wrong feeding habits. Thus the sufferer from a cough has only himself to blame for the setting up of his trouble ; it is no good putting the blame on to outside factors�which cannot defend themselves !� such as " the weather."

Why do coughs generally arise in winter and not at other seasons ? Because the average individual usually eats more heavily than ever of the catarrh-forming foods (white bread, meat, sugar, porridge, potatoes, puddings, pies, etc.) in the colder months of the year ; because he tends to over clothe himself with heavy under-garments and other garments at that time, and so prevents proper aeration of the skin ; because there is a lack of sunshine and other life-quickening factors during the winter months ; and finally, because this same average individual spends nearly all his time indoors or in stuffy atmospheres and so does not get enough pure air to breathe or sufficient exercise. There may be one or two other factors concerned in the setting up of a cough in winter, but we need not concern ourselves with them here. We have given enough reasons already, surely, to satisfy the intelligent reader that coughs do not appear " out of the blue " as it were, but are the direct outcome of certain definite physical and physiological factors.

Treatment. � Having realised that a cough is merely a symptom of a catarrhal condition of the bronchial tubes, in which the mucus, or " phlegm," is being audibly stirred up and expectorated from the system, the reader can surely now see that in the circumstances a cough is really a good thing. It is a move towards health, an attempt to force toxic matter out of an overloaded system. What we have to do, therefore, is to help on the cleansing work, not to hinder it by means of suppressive drugs in the form of medicines � patent or otherwise � designed to stop the cough.

People think that if they can take something to " stop " a cough, then it is quite all right. But in stopping the cough they have left the toxic matter responsible for its setting up still in the system, to cause further coughs and perhaps more serious chest trouble later on. Especially will this be so if the same old wrong feeding habits as of yore are continued with � as they inevitably will be � in complete ignorance as to the vital part they play in the matter. For the only really effective treatment for a cough the sufferer is referred to that for Bronchitis just previously given. If the cough is a severe one the treatment for acute bronchitis should be followed out; but if the cough is of a less serious nature or of the chronic kind, the treatment for chronic bronchitis should be adopted.

Treatment. � The sufferer from dilatation of the heart can look to no help in any real sense from orthodox drug treatment; such treatment but serves to make his condition more and more chronic as time goes on. The only sane and logical treatment for dilatation of the heart is along the lines of that given for Valvular Heart Disease, to be found farther on in the present section. By carefully following out the advice there given, the sufferer from dilatation can look for quite a decided improvement in his condition, although a complete cure can hardly be hoped for from the very nature of the case.

Treatment. � Treatment for endocarditis should be in the hands of a competent Naturopath where at all possible ; for although fasting and strict dietetic treatment are indicated, the heart, in certain cases, owing to its weakened condition, may not be able to stand the strain imposed upon it by rigorous eliminative treatment. But if personal naturopathic attention is not available in any given case, treatment should be along the lines of that for Valvular Disease of the Heart, to be found farther on in the present section.

When doing breathing exercises, the emphysematous patient should stress the expiratory movements more than the inspiratory � that is to say, he should stress the expelling of the air from the lungs, and not so much the inhaling of air.

Treatment. � Where the sufferer can be sure that his symptoms are due to false angina and not true angina, a scheme of systemic cleansing treatment is all that is required to put him right. He should begin with from four to seven days on the all-fruit diet outlined in the Appendix, and follow this with the full weekly dietary also outlined therein. This full weekly dietary should be adhered to as strictly as possible from then on. Further short periods on all-fruit � say, two or three days at a time at monthly intervals�may be required, for the next few months or so, in certain cases.

The bowels should be cleansed nightly with a warm-water enema or gravity douche during the first few days of the treatment, and after if necessary ; and if constipation is habitual, the rules for its eradication given should be put into operation forthwith. A daily dry friction and sitz-bath or sponge, together with the regular performance of the breathing and other exercises given in the Appendix, should form a regular feature of the treatment. A hot Epsom-salts bath should be taken once or twice weekly where possible. If hot baths affect the heart at all, the baths should not be taken too hot, but just comfortably so.

The patient should see that he leads a quiet, normal existence, and all excitement and nerve strain should be avoided as far as possible. Fresh air and outdoor exercise should form a definite feature of the treatment, but moderation in exercise is needed in the early part of the regimen at least. No drugs of any kind should be taken, and strong tea or coffee or alcoholic beverages should be strictly avoided. Smoking, where habitual, should be discontinued Great care with the future dietary is essential, and white bread, sugar, pastry, puddings, pies, boiled potatoes, refined cereals, all greasy and heavy dishes, much meat, and all condiments should be avoided. Fruits and salad should form the bulk of the daily dietary. The hasty eating of meals, hurrying away to work or to do violent exercise directly after a meal, and the eating of meals late at night should be carefully guarded against.

Treatment. � Obviously the only treatment for fatty heart that will cure the condition is constitutional treatment; and if the sufferer will carry out that for Obesity not only will his heart trouble be removed in time, but his whole general health will be greatly enhanced � surely a prize well worthy of the efforts entailed in its getting !

Where there is hypertrophy, it means that in attempting to carry on its full activities under a condition of strain or effort, one or both of the lower ventricles of the heart have become enlarged to enable it to carry out its added work. Such action is known as " compensation," and some cases of heart enlargement or hypertrophy are so well compensated that there is little or no sign of any visible heart trouble. Others, on the other hand, have symptoms of throbbing or heaviness around the heart, and there may be dizziness, headache, noises in the head, etc. The more pronounced these symptoms become, the more certain is it that compensation is failing, and that the condition is progressing towards dilatation.

Treatment. � Sufferers from enlarged or hypertrophied heart can achieve excellent results under natural treatment, especially if the case is taken in the early stages. If treatment cannot be carried out under the personal direction of a Naturopath, the patient should proceed for himself along the lines indicated for Valvular Heart Disease farther on in the present section. Such treatment, graduated to suit his own case, will give the most beneficial results.

In common with all other inflammatory conditions, a toxic condition of the system (due to wrong feeding habits mainly) is at the root of laryngitis, and long-standing constipation is often a very potent factor in the frequent recurrence of the trouble. People who have to do a great deal of talking or singing, or who smoke or drink a great deal, are more likely to be subject to laryngitis than others. (The suppressive medical treatment of childhood ailments, especially fevers, often predisposes towards a susceptibility to laryngitis.)

Treatment. � As regards general treatment for laryngitis, the sufferer is referred to that for Acute Bronchitis given earlier in the present section. Such a scheme will put him right in the quickest possible time. As regards local treatment, the throat should be gargled several times a day with warm water and a little orange juice, and cold packs should be applied frequently daily and one at night (as directed in the Appendix at the end of the book). ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD DRUGS OF ANY KIND BE TAKEN.

Treatment. � Myocarditis is a condition which needs careful watching, and very good results can be obtained in many cases by natural treatment. Drug therapy for the disease is just useless. The sufferer from myocarditis is advised to secure the services of a competent Naturopath for his case where at all possible ; but if this is not practicable, he should carry on as advised in the treatment for Valvular Disease of the Heart, farther on in the present section.

Treatment. � If disease was rightly understood and always treated sanely, conditions such as pericarditis would never develop. The condition can only arise during an acute disease or other serious toxic condition, where the heart is affected by the toxins forced back into the blood-stream as an outcome of treatment by suppressive drugs or other medicinal agents. Where present, pericarditis needs nothing more than the Natural-Cure treatment for the disease with which it is associated. Pain may be relieved by the application of hot compresses over the heart area or by the alternative application of hot and cold compresses.

Treatment. � Where present, the only sensible treatment for pleurisy is fasting, to enable the toxic matter present in the pleura to be absorbed and eliminated by the system. And the sufferer is referred to the treatment for Pneumonia�to follow�for an understanding of how to carry on in his particular case. If such natural treatment is adopted, there will be no fear of further complications of any kind occurring, and in addition the whole system will be built up by the treatment.

The actual starting cause of an attack may be a chill, exposure, etc., etc., but without this underlying toxicity of the lungs and system generally the disease could never develop. Germs are merely superficial agents in the matter, and only arise as a result of the toxic condition in question, not as its cause. The driving back of toxic matter into the system, and its collection in the lung tissue as a result of the suppressive treatment of acute toxic conditions such as influenza, etc., often leads directly to the setting up of pneumonia.

Treatment. � Treatment for pneumonia along Natural-Cure lines is no different from that for any other acute disease or fever, and the reader is therefore referred to the section on Fevers for full details as to how the disease should be treated.